Athens State trustees amend hiring, spending and ethics policies

Trustees at Athens State University, in their second-ever meeting, are establishing new policies now that the school can operate independent of the state's community college system. (Evan Belanger/Alabama Media Group)

ATHENS, Alabama -- Newly appointed trustees at Athens State University are wasting little time amending rules and procedures that once governed the school under the state's two-year college system.

In their second-ever meeting today, trustees approved a host of new policies, including a provision defining conflicts of interest for trustees and a resolution granting the school's president authority to establish rules and procedures -- retaining policy authority for the board.

The measures represent some of the trustee's first official actions since the Alabama Legislature granted the school autonomy last year, separating it from the state's community college system and the governance of the state board of education.

Athens State is unique in that it is a two-year baccalaureate institution that caters only to juniors and seniors.

While its primary mission is to provide further degree opportunities for students graduating from community college, the more rigid rules applied by the state board of education to community colleges led to conflicts, according to school officials.

For example, President Robert Glenn said, Athens State still operates under the community college tenure system, which grants professors tenure automatically after three years.

That makes it the only baccalaureate school in the country that does not grant tenure based on merit and peer review, he said.

"We were in a position to have to comply with policies that weren't
in our best interest because they were policies that were in the best
interest of the community colleges," Glenn said.

Other policies approved by the board today granted the president the authority to approve purchases up to $350,000 and capital improvement contracts up to $500,000 per fiscal year without further board approval.

Glenn said he expects the board to update the school's tenure policy later this year.

Trustee Sandra Sims-deGraggenried said today school officials are working on a contract for Glenn, who still serves at will as presidents of the state's community colleges do.

"We've
got all these policies that used to be in effect by the board and one
by one we're reviewing them and taking out the ones that don't make
sense," Glenn said.

All of the trustees must still be confirmed by the Alabama Senate during the next session, which begins Feb. 5.